Rival11

So I finally listened to St. Anger because of this thread....I honestly don't think it's that bad but yeah, there are some really, really, bad songs on that album (purify makes me literally wince). But I actually dug a bunch of songs on it too.

As for Hardwired.....so far it's tied with death magnetic for me (been listening DM again to compare...forgot how much I liked that album.

bunkaroo

I've been listening to the old albums for the first time in a while (I know them like the back of my hand though). I realized what I'm missing the most on this new record - guitar harmonies. That was such a signature sound for the band. DM still has a bit but this new record has even less. It's probably why I like Moth Into Flame the most since it does have some.

gerrythedon

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Hazel Motes

Kill Em All doesn't really have any.

gerrythedon

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ytrez

I'm getting the sense that Metallica makes records so that they can film themselves making records and discussing songs.

EddieMoney

bunkaroo

You're right, and that's why I consistently rank it lower than anything from their classic period. There's some cool stuff on there but it doesn't hold a candle to RTL, MOP or Justice. I'm not even sure I'd put it ahead of the black album.

mndtrp

Kill is my least favorite, only beating out St. Anger. The main reason is I'm not very into straight-forward thrash, regardless of who made it or when it came out.

Hazel Motes

agree to disagree I guess. Kill Em All to me is the greatest debut by any metal band ever and one of the greatest albums of alltime.

ytrez

I'm with you. Hit the Lights, The Four Horsemen, Jump in the Fire, Whiplash, Seek & Destroy. All great, classic metal albums that, for me, put Kill ahead of the Black Album and everything after it.

bunkaroo

My statement doesn't mean I don't like KEA or recognize it as one of the best metal debuts - I just like what came after more from Metallica. When you compare it to the debuts of any of the other big thrash heavyweights, it's really no contest at all - it buries them all.

Saying I like the black album more was probably a little overboard.

Rival11

I honestly am only into Metallica from the point of Death Magnetic. I know that's going to cause some grins but whatever...it's what I like. Of course I like some of the older stuff but DM really shook things up for me (loudness war production and all).

For Hardwired....I just can't get into the first 5 songs on the second disc....they just fall flat. I like the first 4 songs on disc one.

All in all, DM is the album I prefer but this is still a solid entry (even though I only like 5 out of the 12 songs) the bonus tracks on disc 3 didn't do anything for me either.

I can't figure out for the life of me though how anyone could pick Megadeth's new album over Metallica's. MD sounds very tired (although there is some great guitar work on their new album).

The slayer and Anthrax albums did nothing for me as well.

gerrythedon

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gerrythedon

METALLICA Frontman Says KIRK HAMMETT's 'Riffs Weren't There' During 'Hardwired' Songwriting Process
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/met...gf6rWtpLQQP.99


@ 5:55
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EddieMoney

Disc 2 has really grown on me. I'd rank this album as their best since the Black Album, and I may even slightly prefer it to that one. Solid effort.

bunkaroo

Hopefully James' public comments about Kirk's riff will be the final warning shot. Better solos could have really added a nice dimension to this album. Instead they're just something to get through while listening. Might be time for the guys to go the hired gun route.

inri222

gerrythedon

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gerrythedon

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Hazel Motes

Metallica would call it a career before they fired Kirk. There's just no way that would ever happen. He's been their guitarist since before they recorded Kill Em All. I just don't see any way they'd give him his walking papers after 33 years.

Although I will say it would be pretty damned interesting to see what would happen if Mustaine was brought back into the fold, even though it would likely implode before anything cool happened.

Hazel Motes

Also, speaking of 33 years, I think were only a few months away from Robert Trujillo being the longest tenured bassist in Metallica. Which kind of blows my mind.

bunkaroo

I haven't had a 33 year career, but I've been in various bands for the last 28 years. Even if I had played with the same guys all this time, if we had a successful band and one guy was bringing down the quality, he absolutely would be shown the door and I wouldn't have a second thought about it. It's nice to be friends with your bandmates but the band comes first.

This occurred to me as well the other day. It's cool Rob has been in so long, but to me his contributions will still take some time to rival Jason's time in the band since Jason was there when the band recorded its most successful record. Rob is only the bassist of record on two records so far counting the new one.

slop101

It's kinda on the rest of the band too. All they had to do was say to Kirk "Hey, um, could you make these solos... um, better?" And if he didn't comply, then maybe that's when he should get the boot. It's like they didn't care enough to address it.

bunkaroo

Guitar solos usually come pretty late in the tracking process. All basic tracks would likely be done already as well as some if not all vocals. Kirk has already gone on the record and stated he improvised everything so he didn't spend time composing solos, as in making them better.

It seems like they gave themselves a tight window for production since they are typically busy doing shows and other things. I'm guessing by the time Kirk provided his putrid solos, redoing them would have cost them more time than they were willing to give up. And that's assuming he could do better. For all we know, what we got is the result of multiple redos and is the best he could do right now.